Posted on 05/27/2025 3:38:08 PM PDT by Jacquerie
From a Renaissance fresco, “Take Rome as your example if you wish to rule a thousand years; follow the common good, and not selfish ends; and give just counsel like these men.”
America isn’t the first country to suffer secular effects from shunning its religious foundation.
I was at first surprised to learn that a decline in Roman religious observance played a leading role in Rome’s corruption and fall. In 715 BC, the Roman senate appointed Numa to succeed Rome’s founder, Romulus. He turned to religion to tame a fierce people and bring about civilized society. Perhaps not until the rise of the United States was there more fear of God than of the law. This greatly facilitated every public undertaking. Machiavelli wrote, “Anyone who examines the countless deeds of Roman citizens will see that they feared breaking an oath more than breaking the law.” Appeal to religious standards was essential in controlling armies, giving courage to plebeians, keeping men good, and shaming the wicked.
Numa knew that without religious underpinnings, his plan to create new institutions would be a tough sell. “In truth,” wrote Machiavelli, in his Discourses on Livy, “no maker of extraordinary laws who did not have recourse to God has ever existed in any society, because these laws would not otherwise be accepted.” He concluded that religious adherence produced good institutions. Good institutions created good fortune, and from good fortune arose a happy people.
Shared religious beliefs minimize the need for statutory law. From Justice Hugo Black’s “wall of separation” nonsense in Everson v. Board of Education (1947), to Engel v. Vitale (1962) which outlawed state sponsored prayer, the Left’s jihad against Christianity proceeds without relent, so much so that display of the Ten Commandments on public property is deemed unconstitutional, and The Little Sisters of the Poor must pay for abortions. Shared religious traditions are an essential social glue, so much so that disregard of divine worship is the ruin of republics, because where fear of God is absent, government must substitute coercion for cooperation. Scotus’ corruption of the establishment clause has done, and is doing, enormous damage to society.
From necessity, when men do not control themselves, Godless states are soon authoritarian. In its efforts to replace God with Social Justice Tyranny, the Left resists the slightest breach of Hugo Black’s wall.
Moral collapse always precedes a civilization’s collapse.
Unless there’s a move of God and people turning back to Him, our demise is inevitable.
Well put...
This depends on the religion.
Marking.
“no maker of extraordinary laws who did not have recourse to God has ever existed in any society, because these laws would not otherwise be accepted.”
which is why there has never been (and never will be) a ‘separation between church and state.’
Judeo-Christian only!!
Roman decline exemplified by the embrace of sodomy we are currently spearheading (Trump backing off some but culturally we are awful)
Eight Stages of the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
From bondage to spiritual growth
From spiritual growth to great courage
From courage to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependence
From dependence back to bondage
This same idea is described another way:
Anarchy
Feudalism
Monarchy
Enlightenment
Renaissance
Democracy
Capitalism
Abundance
Complacency
Collapse
Anarchy
It does indeed repeat; and, I don't think there is anything that can be done about it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.